Stop and Smell the Roses
by Lockhart-in-the-Closet
Summary: Over the course of her life Layla saw Warren Peace several times. She just didn't know it. Ending compliant until 3/4ths the way through. Layla/Warren


A/N: Sooooo yeah. I NEVER thought I'd write a fic for Sky High. Mostly because I wasn't all that impressed with the movie (I feel like the premise was better than the film itself)... but then the whole Layla/Warren thing got under my skin and I HAD to write this. This is also probably my longest one shot ever.  
>I was listening to the Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST and Emilie Autumn's Opheliac album as I wrote this.<br>All standard disclaimers apply, of course.  
>Please read and review!<p>

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><p>When Layla was five years old, she met Zach, a friend of Will's in school. Will and her had been friends since before they could remember and with the inclusion of Zach, the three of them were inseparable. They went on play dates with their parents to the park on the weekends. There, Layla would swing on the swing set going as high as she could while Zach and Will pretend sword fought around the wooden playground. Will had never told Layla that his parents were Supers, but she'd have to be blind - even at five - not to notice. She never said anything though, and kept her own power from him. After all, her parents had explicitly told her not to tell anyone, either.<p>

It was on one of these play dates that something new happened. A tall, thin woman with black hair walked up to Will's parents, her lips tight and thin as she spoke harshly to the two. She gesticulated wildly and looked like she was on the verge of tears. Layla stopped swinging, skidding her sneakers through the dirt as she watched, transfixed at the three adults clearly arguing about something. The woman took a huge, gulping breath, and Will's mom hugged the other woman close. The black haired woman pushed Josie away and covered her eyes briefly before turning on her heel and marching over towards Layla. Immediately the young girl's eyes widened, thinking she was in trouble. Instead the woman veered to the left, and Layla then noticed the wiry black haired boy staring hard at Steve, Will's dad as he sat on a wooden bench not far from the swings.

The boy's gaze flickered over to her on the swing set, and Layla stared at the boy's deep brown eyes. He looked so sad. The woman, clearly the boy's mother, picked up the boy in her arms even if he looked to be around six or seven and left the playground.

Their parents called for Layla and the boys, and they went home much earlier than normal. When she asked in the car ride home what had happened, her parents only said that it was time to go home. She couldn't help but be a little disappointed. When they got home, her mom made her favorite meal, lo mein and then sent her up to her room to play after dinner.

Layla decided she wasn't going to just play in her room, even if mommy had told her to do it. Instead, she crouched down on the stairs and listened in as her father turned on the news. Immediately she heard the words. " -rron Battle was finally sentenced today with four life time sentences for his various crimes against humanity, bank robberies, and murders. The Commander and Jetstream were not available for comment today..." and on the broadcast went. Layla frowned as she sat there on the steps. The news made no sense to her, but she could tell her parents were upset and happy at the same time about it.

Layla went the rest of the steps upstairs and played with her toys until bed time.

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><p>At eleven, Layla's life was getting exciting. She had started sixth grade – middle school! Even if she was picked on a little, she was enjoying her new experiences. She had new and exciting classes like Biology and a special writing class as well as Art. Already, she loved her art class. Her powers had gotten stronger and she could grow new kinds of plants, like roses and her favorite so far, ivy. She felt special because the plants she grew were always really pretty and her mom loved them.<p>

Her middle school experience was already looking up, as she had met Magenta and Ethan in one of her classes and after a couple of days of getting to know them she invited them to hang out with her and the boys. Will and Zach had taken a shine to the other two quickly, and after two weeks of school the group was the best of friends. They always sat together at lunch, at a table in a corner away from the other students.

By August the group was always together, at someone's house, usually Layla's or Will's. Zach had an obvious crush on Magenta and often tried to invite her to his house to play video games or do projects. Magenta always brushed the eager boy off and would look to Layla for help. Layla always just laughed and let Magenta handle it.

Half way through the school year the lunchroom was packed as no one wanted to be outside right then from the cold. Magenta was giving Layla one of her 'save me from him' looks as Zach tried even harder to get Magenta's attention. Layla just grinned and turned her head to look out at the rest of the cafeteria, to see if she could recognize any faces. She saw a set of boys laughing uproariously as they tripped a smaller boy, sending his food flying all over the floor.

She shook her head at the bullies and looked beyond them, when she saw an older boy sitting off to the side, away from the rest of the tables. He was reading a book, but from her distance, she couldn't tell what book. It looked big though. She saw his black hair fall into his face and with aggravation he reached up and pushed it back out of his eyes. He had on torn jeans and worn sneakers, with a battered Guns and Roses shirt that was at least two sizes too big. He was oblivious to the stares he received, too engrossed in his novel.

Layla turned away and laughed at a lame joke of Zach's that never got old as Magenta rolled her eyes and Will watched a brown haired girl a few tables away while Ethan worked on his biology homework.

When Layla was fourteen years old, she thought life sucked. Will was mooning all over Gwen Grayson, the most perfect girl at Sky High. She was even in Hero Class, which Layla was not. Will was ignoring their friends – even Zach. It was like he thought he was some hot shot great guy now that he was dating Gwen. It left Layla hurt and confused as she was swept to the way side. Will was moving on from his friends, and Layla couldn't understand it. His powers had only just surfaced, and she could only think that perhaps he was trying even harder than he needed to be accepted by the "cool crowd" that he'd always been desperate to be a part of.

She watched as he blew her off more and more often, skipped out on hang out dates, stopped sitting with her and their friends at lunch, as he didn't even acknowledge her in the hallways some times. The last straw was hit when she had convinced Will to hang out with her at the Paper Lantern, one of her favorite restaurants in the area. She had dressed up for the date, nervously calling Magenta nearly ten different times to ask about clothing ideas and make up. Once there, she sat down at a table and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

She waited for another hour, and then she dejectedly told herself he wasn't going to show. It was when she was contemplating leaving when a voice suddenly said, "You still workin' on that?" in reference to the food she was pushing around on her plate.

Layla raised her eyes to a tall young man with his black hair pulled back in a messy pony tail, an apron over his worn jeans and tank top. She stared at him for several minutes, trying to place the face. Finally her gaze fell lower and she saw the red tattoos spiraling up his well toned arms. She continued to stare at him, still trying to bring a name to the face as she undoubtedly freaked the young man out. He shifted his weight, and she realized where she had seen him before.

"We go to school together." was the first words out of her mouth as she looked back up at him. She recognized him now; he was Warren Peace, the son of Barron Battle and happened to be Will's arch enemy. He could also control fire, the natural enemy of her own element, earth. After all fire burnt down trees. She had heard he kept to himself when he wasn't hurling fire balls at Will, and the few times she had seen him in the cafeteria he'd been by himself reading different books each day. She found it curious that such a violent boy as himself was also so well read.

"Yeah, you're Stronghold's friend," he replied, standing awkwardly next to her table. Clearly he had something to say as he watched her. Layla dropped her head and looked down at her plate. "Here, I'll heat it up for you." Her head shot up like a rocket.

"We can't use our powers outside of school!" she hissed his way, mortified that he'd compromise himself. Warren just grinned at her.

"I was just gonna heat it up in the microwave," and then he took her food and disappeared for several moments before returning with a suspiciously very hot plate for the amount of time he was gone. He set it down in front of her and again stood awkwardly next to her table.

"Well, obviously Will isn't here, and he won't be here, so do you want to sit down?" Layla asked and then she held her breath, wondering if he would insult her and walk away. He didn't. He just cast a look towards the back and sat across from her. From there, the rest of Layla's evening was spent talking to Warren Peace, resident bad boy of Sky High about her unrequited love for Will Stronghold.

Homecoming was probably the worst thing that Layla had experienced in some time. The screaming, the crying, the squeezing through vents and the constant worry. She could see why Warren didn't like school functions. Will surprised her when he randomly showed up outside of the vent they were in. He surprised her even more when he kissed her. Maybe Homecoming wasn't so bad.

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><p>When Layla was twenty-three years old, she broke off her engagement with Will Stronghold. It was the most heartbroken she'd ever felt, but it was what needed to be done. Will had been such a glory hound that she'd felt that she was just holding him back from what he wanted, and she'd found herself no longer in love with him. She wasn't heartbroken for herself, she was heartbroken for Will,who didn't take the break up well. He'd yelled and cried and told her he thought she was horrible for doing this to him. She tried not to cry as he begged her to reconsider breaking it off. She didn't.<p>

She ended up crying in Warren's arms when he came to see how she was holding up a week later. He had sat on her couch and coddled her as snot and tears ran down her face and soaked his black tee shirt. He hadn't complained, and an hour later he went back to his own apartment, where his girlfriend was waiting.

Layla spent the next four months engrossed in hero work (she'd been transferred after Homecoming), nearly working herself to the bone. She took the odd call from Magenta when she was in Argentina, and exchanged an email or two with Warren when she was in Moscow. When she wasn't saving the day, she was taking pictures and tending gardens. When she finally returned to the states, it had been nearly three years since she'd left.

Her contact with her friends had dwindled to nearly nothing, so when she showed up on Magenta's door step, she was startled to see the other woman round and very pregnant. She blinked several times and then hugged her best friend close. Magenta grinned hugely and pulled Layla inside, chattering her ear off. Layla nodded to Zach and Ethan, both of which were playing video games on the couch. Magenta pushed her into the kitchen and there the girls sat down at the table to talk.

"Oh my gosh, Maj, why didn't you call me or something? You're pregnant!" Layla grinned at Magenta and reached out, touching her overly large stomach. Magenta's face fell slightly.

"Well, you kind of went AWOL. I wasn't sure if I'd get through to you. And then with everything that happened, I wasn't sure if you'd even want to talk to me." She reached out and took Layla's hand gently, as if expecting the red head to break down into tears.

Layla sent her a confused expression, but held her hand regardless. "What's happened, Maj?" Her voice was now laced with concern and worry. Her knee began to bounce from her nerves, and she held her breath in anticipation.

"Lay... Warren went missing. He went on assignment and then never came back. It's been six months. Will went looking for him, but... but we started to think maybe he was... you know..." She left the statement hanging, not willing to say the words. She knew how close Warren and Layla had been. Hell, he'd slowly become friendlier in his own way towards all of them, Magenta included. He'd been present at her and Zach's wedding.

Magenta watched silently as Layla's face fell and crumpled. She watched as her best friend cried harder than Magenta had ever seen, more so than when she'd broken up with Will. She watched as Layla stumbled as she stood up and croaked out a question about a guest room. Once she was pointed in the right direction Layla stayed there for nearly three hours.

When Layla finally reemerged her eyes were puffy and red, her clothes crumpled and her hair a mess as it stuck to her red and splotchy face. She hoarsely asked Magenta about Will's new phone number. It was then that Magenta informed her that Will had gotten married, and had a baby of his own on the way. Layla didn't even seem phased as she picked up the home phone they kept and dialed Will's house number.

She cleared her throat as the phone rang and once the line was picked up by a distinctly female voice she hesitantly asked for Will. Once her life long friend had been placed on the phone she immediately asked for every detail Will had about Warren's disappearance. There wasn't much. He'd been in Africa doing some kind of assignment, and suddenly had dropped off the map.

Layla's face had crumpled further and with sobs she begged Will to go back out and look for Warren. She explained that once she got herself under control, she'd go out and look as well. Will demanded she stay behind and that he'd go looking again as he would be faster on his own, with the flying ability and all that. He told her he had a message for her from Warren that he'd send over in the morning.

Will didn't disappoint. The envelope with just her name scrawled on it in Warren's hand was suspiciously thin and fairly light and was tucked under the front door. Luckily Zach noticed the name before he opened it and set it on Layla's dresser in the guest room. However, she hadn't gotten much sleep that night and was up shortly after Zach had left the room. She opened the letter the moment she spotted it. She was surprised to see two letters inside of it, both of which were very short. One she recognized instantly as being in Will's hand. This confused her somewhat until she read it.

_Layla, just some background information on this; Warren gave me this envelope shortly after you left the states. He said he wrote it in the event of him ever going missing or was incapable of speaking for himself. I think he knew that he'd eventually disappear._

Layla set the first letter down on the bed and then lifted up Warren's, trepidation in her heart. It had been three years, and the paper was slightly delicate. She gingerly opened it and scanned the lines. Then the tears started.

_If anything happens to me I just want you to know that I loved you. Always. Even when I was pretty sure you were going to marry Will and I had my own girlfriend. I will always love you._

Layla sobbed hard and looked out the window. Warren was out there some where, likely alone. She sobbed again and didn't leave that room for the rest of the day.

It took some coercing on Magenta's part to get Layla back out of the house for baby shopping. She could see that her best friend was being eaten alive with worry and despair over Warren. The two of them bought all kinds of toys and clothes for the baby (it was a boy), but Magenta could see that Layla's heart wasn't in it no matter how hard she tried.

It was nearly a week after she finally got Layla to smile that they got the phone call.

Warren had been found. He was coming home.

It took the two men nearly four days to get back, and in that time Magenta was sure that Layla was going to wear a path in her linoleum floor. When the door bell finally rang, Layla jumped a mile out of her skin and rushed to Magenta's front door (Magenta thought it was hilarious that Layla was so anxious that she'd answer the door for someone else's house). She threw open the door and stared up at Will and Warren, both of which were squished on the door step nervously.

It took approximately five seconds for Layla to register that Warren's long hair was gone and was replaced by a spiky black and red cut. And for her to notice the scar on the side of his neck, perilously close to his jugular. Her face erupted into a huge grin and she threw her arms around him in a huge hug.

Six months later Layla and Warren announced their engagement at the Paper Lantern.


End file.
